In addition to a portion of average viewers, Disney has received criticism from high-profile individuals including Elon Musk and Nelson Peltz that the company have become too “woke.” Now Disney CEO Bob Iger has called out the use of the word “woke,” something which he immediately shut down.
This criticism became especially notable when, on April Fool’s Day, Elon Musk shared a tweet criticizing the company. “Excited to join @Disney as their Chief DEI Officer,” Musk joked. “Can’t wait to work with Bob Iger & Kathleen KEnnedy to make their content MORE woke!”
“Even the linguini,” Musk adds.
Excited to join @Disney as their Chief DEI Officer.
Can’t wait to work with Bob Iger & Kathleen Kennedy to make their content MORE woke!
Even the linguini.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 1, 2024
Now, as shared by Vanity Fair, Disney CEO Bob Iger has broken his silence on the matter. “I ignore it,” he stated in an interview with CNBC. “There’s no relevance to the Walt Disney Company or to me.”
Iger also indirectly responds by sharing that Disney’s content isn’t focused on “infusing messaging.” In fact, he confirms that their priority is to make sure their films and shows are “entertaining.”
“Infusing messaging as the sort of number one priority in our films and TV shows is not what we’re up to. They need to be entertaining,” said Iger. “And, look, where the Disney company can have a positive impact on the world—whether it’s fostering acceptance and understanding of people of all different types—great. But, generally speaking, we need to be an entertainment-first company, and I’ve worked really hard to do that.”
He finally added the following statement in response to Musk and Peltz, explaining that people who use the word “woke” don’t really understand it:
“The term woke is thrown around rather liberally,” Iger said. “I think a lot of people don’t really understand what it means.”
It’s certainly interesting to see Bob Iger’s perspective on the situation. Especially as he is Disney’s CEO and the target for many of these comments.